KARACHI: An unbeaten century from Abdul Faseeh led Rawalpindi to a seven-wicket win over Faisalabad in the fourth-round match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Sunday. This was the home side’s first win in the tournament.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed struck an unbe­aten double century in a drawn game between Karachi Whites and Lahore Whites at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Peshawar were led to their second win after defeating Lahore Blues by three wickets at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, while Fata played out a drawn game against Multan after being enforced to follow-on at the KRL ground in Rawalpindi.

Rawalpindi successfully chased down the 204-run target on the back of an unbeaten century by opening batter Faseeh (109 not out). Resuming their second innings at the overnight score of 190-2, it took Rawalpindi 7.3 more overs to achieve the target, losing Ashfaq Ahmed’s (40) wicket in the process, who was dismissed by Mohammad Ali.

Peshawar, chasing a modest 190-run for victory, lost seven wickets in process and reached the target in the 63rd over. For the winning team, Kamran Ghulam top-scored with a 99-ball 50, hitting five boundaries. Israrullah was the other notable run-getter, scoring 30 off 78 balls.

Earlier, after resuming their second innings at the overnight score of 149-7, Lahore Blues were dismissed for 215 in 68.2 overs.

In a drawn game, Sarfraz’s unbeaten double century and 151 from Rameez Aziz allowed Karachi Whites to put a huge 784 runs on the scoreboard in reply to Lahore Whites’ first innings score of 509-9.

Resuming their first innings at the overnight score of 432-4 in 125 overs, an unbroken 351-run partnership between Sarfraz and Rameez for the sixth wicket was the highlight of the day. Sarfraz scored unbeaten 200 off 236 balls, which included 24 fours and a six, while Rameez’s innings featured 15 fours and two sixes.

In another drawn game, Fata, after being enforced to follow on were 336-9 in 128.3 overs when stumps were drawn. Mohammad Irfan Khan shined with the bat, scoring 84 off 177 balls, hitting 10 fours and two sixes. For Multan, Aamer Yamin, Hamayun Altaf and Zahid Mehmood bagged two wickets each.

Scores in brief:

Rawalpindi beat Faisalabad by seven wickets

FAISALABAD 112 in 39.3 overs (Ali Waqas 26; Mohammad Faizan 5-35, Mohammad Awais 3-29) and 234 in 74.4 overs (Mohammad Huraira 87, Abu Bakar Khan 67; Mohammad Faizan 4-84, Mohammad Awais 2-37, Kashif Ali 2-73); RAWALPINDI 144 in 56.3 overs (Zeeshan Malik 108; Faheem Ashraf 5-12, Khurram Shahzad 2-46, Mohammad Ali 2-56) and 204-3, 55.3 overs (Abdul Faseeh 109 not out, Ashfaq Ahmed)

Peshawar beat Lahore Blues by three wickets

LAHORE BLUES 334 in 85.1 overs (Hussain Talat 87, Junaid Ali 82, Kashif Bhatti 69; Niaz Khan 3-73, Mohammad Ilyas 3-81, Sajid Khan 2-91) and 215 in 68.2 overs (Nisar Ahmed 48, Usman Salahuddin 44, Junaid Ali 39; Niaz Khan 3-52, Sajid Khan 2-18, Abbas Afridi 2-54, Mohammad Ilyas 2-74); PESHAWAR 360 in 95.4 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 132, Kamran Ghulam 43, Sajid Khan 39, Maaz Sadaqat 38; Kashif Bhatti 4-59, Waqas Ahmed 3-87, Shadab Majeed 2-68) and 192-7, 62.2 overs (Kamran Ghulam 50, Israrullah 30)

Match drawn between Fata and Multan

MULTAN 529-5 (decl.) in 111.4 overs (Zain Abbas 292, Mohammad Basit 150; Sameen Gul 2-75); FATA 348 in 90.2 overs (Rehan Afridi 164, Akif Javed 53 not out, Mohammad Sarwar 51; Zahid Mahmood 5-135, Aamir Yamin 2-52) and 336-9 (follow-on), 128.3 overs (Mohammad Irfan Khan 84, Salman Khan Jnr 76, Rehan Afridi 29; Hamayun Altaf 2-23, Aamer Yamin 2-29, Zahid Mehmood 2-88)

Match drawn between Karachi Whites and Lahore Whites

LAHORE WHITES 509-9 (decl.) in 137.2 overs (Ali Zaryab 222, Fahad Munir 72, Ahmed Shehzad 65, Saad Nasim 61; Noman Ali 6-162); KARACHI WHITES 784-5 in 206.2 overs (Sarfraz Ahmed 200 not out, Rameez Aziz 151 not out, Asad Shafiq 113, Khurram Manzoor 110, Ammad Alam 102, Fahad Iqbal 61; Saad Nasim 2-112).

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2023